Finding a cure
by JXeleven
Summary: The whole world is overtaken by the undead and a man named Arthur is trying to stay alive in this zombie filled world. After two months of surviving he encounters a scientist named Merlin, a man searching for a cure. But is Merlin really a stranger to him and will they be able to survive long enough to find a cure? Rated T for violence. AU: Zombie Apocalypse
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: Hello everyone. So this is something I have been wanting to do for a while now, just wasn't able to do it. I also have to thank my beta reader (miss persuasion), since she definitely improves my story and I'm terrible when it comes to grammar. **_

_**This will be a future zombie apocalypse story, but it isn't going to be full of horror and gore. It will also be a story without magic in it. More I don't think I have to tell all of you for now. I just hope you like it and maybe you could even leave a review?**_

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Arthur ran, his eyes shifting from side to side as he held his bat so tight in his hands that his knuckles turned white. A loud growl came from his left and without a second thought he swung his bat towards it, hitting something hard. A loud and disgusting noise filled the air as the skull broke under the hit.

He stared at 'it' for a moment, at the undead, at what fiction calls a zombie, but he didn't look long, knowing that every distraction could mean his death. He returned to running, eying his surroundings with much attention and suspicion.

It had been two months since the world came to an end... Two long months filled with horror and death. According to the rumors it had all started in Japan before spreading to the rest the world, people biting and eating each other, but for him it all started at a business meeting halfway across the country. He had just signed an important treaty between his company and that of their strongest competitor when one of the assistants ran into the office, his whole body covered in blood while his eyes were death, all life had disappeared from them and Arthur immediately understood that something was terribly wrong. The assistant had bitten his boss and the only thing Arthur had been able to do was stare in horror at the scene. After that he ran, he ran like most people had, but unlike most he had survived. At first with a large group before their group became smaller and smaller until only he was left... So he had been running, hoping that his father was still alive, even though that meant he had to go all the way back to New York.

He was brought back from his thoughts as he saw three more undead running towards him and he quickly destroyed their heads, killing them instantly. The only way to completely kill them was destroying their brains. A small smile spread over his lips as he remembered all the zombie movies he had watched, in the end he was glad that he had.

The blond suddenly stopped as he saw something lying in the grass not far from him. He quickly made his way towards it, eying the object with a small smile as pulled it up. It was a motorcycle and he let out a small laugh of joy as he noticed the keys still in the ignition and after starting it he realized that there was still almost a full tank of gas in it.

He drove the bike further down the road until the darkness began to set, night was probably the most dangerous time of the day. So he parked the bike in front of a house, which he hoped was abandoned and quickly made his way inside. He searched the whole house and he let out a soft sigh of relief as he noticed that no zombie nor living human was inside.

He ate some of his scarce food as he read the map and figured out which road was the safest to take. It wasn't long before he decided to go to sleep, again making sure that everything was locked and that he didn't have to worry about being eaten while sleeping.

It was just after sunrise that he woke up. After breakfast and another quick look at his map he went back to his motorcycle. He quickly packed the few belongings he still possessed before getting back on the road again.

He had been on the road for almost the whole day when that same thought spread through his mind that had haunted his mind for the last couple of days. The last few days he hadn't encountered that many zombies, they seemed to have disappeared and it worried him. Lately they had started grouping together as if they were heading somewhere.

But he shook his head, he couldn't be thinking about that now, he just had to focus on keeping himself alive... he hoped that it wasn't all for nothing.

It was when he neared what seemed like some sort of medical building that he stopped, determining whether this was a good place to stop the night.

Not that he got much time to decide, because before he even realized what was happening, he felt something jump into him, throwing him off the bike. His head hit the concrete as the thing rolled further off the road. He quickly lifted himself up, but not without letting out a loud hiss when he felt his head, it hurt, but he didn't have time to pity himself at the moment. Arthur's head snapped around and his face clearly paled as he noticed a whole group of zombies coming towards him, the one that attacked him earlier also got up. There were too many for him to take out on his own, not that he wouldn't try. The blond took a deep breath as his grip tightened around the bat, slamming it into the head of the first undead that reached him.

But after he had taken out at least the half of the group he was overpowered and stumbled backwards, holding his arms up as he tried to protect himself, but just as the teeth were about to sink into his flesh he heard a loud bang, one he immediately recognized as a gunshot. The first shot was soon followed by multiple others and he heard the sickly sound of breaking skulls.

The zombies closest to him sank to the ground, bullets planted in their heads and Arthur pulled himself up grabbing his weapon and readying himself for another attack. His eyes ran hastily over his surroundings before he lowered the bat, all the undead lay unmoving on the ground.

His head snapped around, searching for his savior and eventually his eyes rested on a small black haired man not far from him, the handgun still raised as if he feared that more would appear out of nowhere. They locked eyes for a moment before Arthur hurried towards him, smiling as he saw the smaller man. 'Thanks.' Was the only thing that left his lips as his mind was still too shocked to say more.

The raven glanced him up and down, eying him with suspicion. 'It's fine.'

It wasn't really strange to see suspicion in his eyes, there weren't many people you could trust left in the world, but Arthur definitely didn't mean any harm and he wanted to show this to the other young man, so he offered him his hand. 'Thanks for saving my life, I'm Arthur.'

The other nervously accepted the hand. 'I am Merlin.'

Arthur nodded before his sight shifted to the sky, seeing that the sun would soon set. 'It's getting dark, do you have somewhere to stay?'

The smaller man narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked around. 'Do you have others with you?'

The blond shook his head as his eyes saddened. 'No.. they all.-' He didn't finish his words, knowing that the other would probably understand. His mind shifted slightly to the people he had lost on the way, Mary, Jackson, Olivia..., they had been the people closest to him. There was just too much death.

Merlin let out a deep sigh as he threw his arms in the air. 'Fine...' Arthur looked startled up at him. 'You can stay with me, it's not safe out here.' He eyed the motorcycle behind Arthur. 'Grab your stuff so we can go.'

Arthur did what he was told and soon followed the raven as he pushed the bike forward. 'So where are we going?'

The raven turned back to him, smiling slightly. 'I have been staying here since the beginning of the... end.' He said before he reached in his pocket, taking a small key out of it and unlocking the door. They walked inside and Arthur left the motorcycle at the entrance.

'Are you sure that they aren't inside?' He asked slightly panicked.

Merlin chuckled slightly at his words. 'You don't have to worry about that, the whole building is locked down.' Arthur frowned, not really able to believe that. The undead always found their way inside a building. The blond looked around, his eyes growing wide as he stared at all the equipment, it must be worth millions... at least once it was worth millions, now it was just junk, pieces of metal. They walked through the dark hallways and Merlin clearly knew where he was heading. 'We're here.' The raven said as he stopped in front of an door, slowly opening it as he let the blond inside.

Arthur blinked at the sight inside, the whole room was covered in papers and equipment. Several pieces of Merlin's own possessions were spread around the room and a few blankets and cushions were thrown together to create a makeshift bed.

'Why did you came here?' He asked as Merlin followed him inside.

The raven sat down on his 'bed' and eyed Arthur. 'I was here when it happened. I once worked here, together with...' The raven fell silent, his eyes growing sad as his hand reached for a ring around his finger, slowly turning it around his skin. Arthur eyed him doing it and he could feel the pain that the other man emitted, he had clearly lost someone important, like they all had. 'You can sit down if you want.' Arthur looked startled down at him before he did what was said.

They looked nervously at each other, not knowing what to say. There wasn't really anything to say besides the undead and trying to stay alive. 'What are you doing here?' Arthur asked, the silence was killing him.

Merlin sighed deeply as he stayed silent for a few more seconds before he looked at the blond. 'You may find me crazy, but... I'm searching for a cure.'

'A cure?'

'Yes... a cure to prevent people from turning into the undead.'

Arthur gaped at him. Yes, he had thought of finding a cure for this, but... doing that in all this mess, in the middle of this wicked world. And besides that he didn't even know how anyone was able to do so without electricity, but there was one question that he wanted to ask most of all. 'Prevent?... Wouldn't it be smarter to make something to turn the undead back into 'people'?'

The raven looked down, a tear welling up in the corner of his eyes. 'They're already dead. They can't be turned back, because they don't live anymore.'

Arthur unconsciously nodded, knowing that it was the truth. 'Are you close?' Merlin looked confused at him and so he added. 'In finding a cure.'

'I'm not sure yet, I... there is something that I don't fully understand yet and I don't have the right equipment to analyze it.' Merlin bit his lip. 'If only she was here.. she would have been able to find the cure.' The last he whispered and Arthur saw how those eyes drifted off.

'What are you planning on doing after that? Who do you want to give it to?'

'I'm planning on going to New York, there's a large settlement there.'

Arthur blinked for a moment as he processed these words. There were survivors in New York! Then there was a chance that his father was still alive. A large smile spread over his face and his eyes widened in joy. 'Then, please let me go with you! I'm heading there too... I'm hoping that my father is still alive.'

'What's his name... I mean, I had radio contact with them until a month ago when the batteries died, so I may know if he's there.'

Arthur smiled at him as he leaned closer to him. 'His name is Uther Pendragon, is he there? Have you heard of him? Please tell me he's there!' But as soon as he spoke his father's name he saw how Merlin's eyes widened in shock. 'What is it?'

'Y-you're Uther's son?... Morgana's brother?'

The blond blinked at him, he knew his sister, but... there was some sort of tenderness in his voice when he spoke Morgana's name. 'How do you know her?' He asked a bit startled.

Merlin's eyes shifted to the ring around his fingers as he took a deep breath, tears welling up in the corners of his eyes. 'She was my fiancé.'


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: Hello everyone! I know it's way too late, especially since it's the second chapter, but I have been really busy with work, still that isn't really a good enough excuse. So the second chapter, there isn't much I'm going to say about it, only that I want to say that this isn't going to be a Merthur story, just friendship between the two of them. I hope you will enjoy it and if you want then leave a review.**_

xxx

Arthur gapped as he heard Merlin's words, this man was Morgana's fiancé? His sister is getting married?... it was then that realization struck him. 'W-where's she?'

The raven didn't look at him as he again brushed slowly over the metal around his finger, searching for something as several tears ran over his cheeks. 'She... She worked with me in the lab, it's how we met...' His eyes shifted for a moment to Arthur's and the blond could see the pain in those big blue eyes. 'She never told you about me?... I mean, I know what happened between her and your father, but I thought that she would have told you, I know that she cared for you.'

Now it was Arthur's turn to look away at the thought of his sister and the woman's hard words. It had been three years since he last saw his sister, just hours after she and their father got into a big fight. Morgana had always wanted to become a doctor, but Uther wanted her to work in his company and eventually she had ran, escaping the life that both actually didn't want, but he had always been too much of an coward to do anything. In those three years they had talked just several times, but... she never talked about having a man in her life. 'She's dead, isn't she?' It wasn't really a question, he already knew the answer.

'Yes.' Merlin's voice answered as it was filled with pain and guilt. 'Last month... Back then we were with the six of us and we went out to search for food, I was the only one that survived. Morgana...' He tightened his fists. 'She was bitten and... she begged me to kill her... and I did it.' The last was nothing more than a whisper.

Without even realising it Arthur embraced the raven, trying to comfort him. Merlin silently cried in his shoulder as Arthur brushed his back. The blond bit his lip as he stared down at that black mob of hair, somehow he wanted to protect this man, maybe because of Morgana or because he was one of the few still alive, but what he was certain about was that it just felt right.

xxx

Arthur sat in the corner as he watched Merlin work, there wasn't really anything he could do. All Merlin's talk about scientific stuff just made him feel dizzy, he never understood all that scientific stuff. He would probably just blow something up if he would help the raven. A small smirk spread over his lips as he remember his second year in high school, he had indeed almost blown up the lab. His lab partner, a girl name Vivian, had almost killed him when she lost her eyebrows in the explosion.

He turned back to the present and stared at Merlin. He had been with Merlin for almost a week and he enjoyed his stay with the younger man, he had felt far better than he had been for the past two months, not that it could have become any worse. He and Merlin had gone out to search for food only once now and they were running low on it, he sighed as he knew they soon had to go out again.

But for now he had other things to worry about as he heard the low rumbling of his stomach. Arthur groaned as he stood up, walking towards the raven as he asked. 'Shall I grab us something to eat.'

The scientist looked startled up from his work and big blue eyes looked at him. 'Uhh... no, thank you. I'm not hungry.'

Arthur rolled with his eyes, Merlin definitely had to take better care of himself. With a quick movement he threw a startled raven over his shoulder, again wondering how the smaller man could be this light. 'You weren't given an option.' He dragged the struggling Merlin towards the kitchen before planting him on one of the chairs. 'So we have canned beans... or canned beans.' The last saying with a sigh as he was just sick of the taste of beans.

He quickly prepared the meal before placing one of the two bowls in front of a offended looking Merlin. 'I said that I wasn't hungry.' Merlin replied as he crossed his arms.

Arthur glared at him. 'That's what you said yesterday!' They fell silent, but Merlin eventually gave in and both started their meal in silence. It was Arthur that broke the silence again. 'How's the progress?'

Merlin let his spoon fall down in the bowl as he shook his head. 'I'm not sure... there's just something that I just don't understand.' A frustrated sigh left his lips and Arthur could only nod.

He hung back into the chair. 'We have to go down to town again, we only have enough food for three more days. I think that I saw a supermarket on my way here, I will see if there's still some food left there.' Arthur bit his lip. 'I will go alone, you just go further with your work.'

Merlin straightened himself in the chair as his eyes grew wide. 'I'm not going to let you go out alone!'

The blond shook his head. 'It will be saver when I go on my own, the fewer the better.'

'But still-.'

'No.' Arthur responded. 'You can better go on with your work, I will be fine.' He gave Merlin a slight reassuring smile, not that it meant he was really sure of himself. 'I will leave in an hour.' Merlin pouted slightly as he nodded that he understood.

As said an hour later they stood at by the front door. Arthur looked nervously out of the window as he searched the area for the undead before he turned back to Merlin. 'I will be back soon.'

The raven grinned at him as he pulled him in a quick hug before releasing the blond with a slight blush on his cheeks. 'You have to come back, you may be a big prat, but it isn't like I have a lot of choice when it comes down to company.' A slight smirk left his lips before Merlin pushed something in his hands. 'For when you come back.'

Arthur stared for a moment at the key in his hands, it was something small, but it felt so big, especially now that the world had come to an end. 'Thanks, I will be back soon.'

He quickly made his way outside, his bat clutched in one hand as he led the motor with his other hand, while one of Merlin's guns was put away in a holster on his side. He was ready.

xxx

Arthur smashed the head of the last zombie that blocked his way towards the supermarket. He quickly got inside, the keys still in the engine as it would give him a quick way out. The blond took a quick breath as he made his way inside, a fast glance told him that there weren't any of 'them' inside.

He coughed slightly as he smelled the rotten fruits and vegetables and he eyed the food. Once he wouldn't have thought twice about throwing food away, but now... now he couldn't believe that he had done something like that, something so stupid. A sigh left his lips and he quickly ran towards the canned food.

He eyed the rows, he wasn't the first one here. The shelves were half empty and Arthur quickly threw a couple of cans in his bag, filling it up till he could barely zip up the zipper.

Just as he stood up he heard a loud growl and his head snapped around, eyeing an undead on the other side of the shelves. The zombie ran into the shelve, causing it to tip over and Arthur was barely able to jump away before he trapped himself beneath the metal structure. He reached for his bat, his fingers touching the wood as he lunged for the undead, breaking the skull.

He gave the undead just a mere glance before his head snapped around, searching for other zombies, one more stood on the other side of the store, but it clearly hadn't noticed Arthur yet and he decided to leave it on that. He quickly threw the bag over his shoulder and made his way outside and immediately his eyes narrowed themselves, at least thirty zombies walked over the parking lot. It was almost as if the appeared out of nowhere and he knew he didn't had much time to decide his next move.

Not that he got a chance to decide what to do as the sound of screams filled his ears, but they weren't filled with fear, they were screams of a pure wicked joy. He quickly kneeled down, hiding away as he heard a car come towards him, something felt so wrong.

A SUV came into view and it was a group of at least nine men that rode on it, all of them were screaming and yelling as they shot the dead coming towards them, clearly enjoying themselves.

They may have been survivors, living, but that didn't mean he felt safe enough to show himself, somehow he feared they would kill him even when he was still alive.

So he stayed quiet till they disappeared from his few, even then he waited another two minutes before standing up. At least they cleared the parking lot for him, there were only two more undead roaming in his eyesight, but both still far enough that he didn't need to handle them.

He quickly started the engine, driving off as he kept an eye out for the men. He definitely didn't want to encounter them again. Luckily he had to go the other way.

The ride back was a quiet one, Arthur would almost say to quiet, and it was the same when he came back at the lab, there wasn't any zombie in sight. Not that he was going to take any risk and he quickly made his way to the door as pulled the key out of his pocket, he smiled softly as he stared at the little piece of metal in his hands before he opened the door.

He parked the motor in the hallway before making his way inside and went towards the lab where Merlin was probably still working on the cure. His hand tightened slightly around the strap of his backpack knowing that it contained a couple of days worth of food.

But the smile soon fell as he walked into the room, Merlin wasn't there. Instead the room looked like a total chaos, papers everywhere and glass vials lay broken on the floor. He dropped the bag, fearing the worst and called out for Merlin.

There were a few completely silent seconds before he got an answer, but the words weren't filled with fear, instead they sounded shocked, but at the same time filled with joy, happiness. 'I'm here.' The words came from the kitchen and he quickly made his way there.

Merlin sat at the table, his head in his hands as he stared at a little piece of paper in front of him. 'Are you alright?' Arthur's voice was filled with concern.

The younger man's blue eyes snapped up, staring confused at him as Merlin heard the sound of Arthur's voice. 'Uhh... yeah, why wouldn't I be?' It was then that the raven's eyes grew wide and he jumped up, throwing his arms around Arthur. 'I did it!'

'You did what?'

Merlin beamed a wide smile up at him. 'I found the cure.'


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N: Hi everyone! So this is already the third chapter for this story. I hope everyone is enjoying this story and I also want to thank my beta reader for all her help with this story. Also this story isn't slash, but a bromance story. So please enjoy and tell me what you thought of it. **_

xxx

Arthur gaped at him as Merlin wore his big goofy grin. 'You did what?!' Arthur exclaimed as he blinked rapidly with his eyes. 'You found the cure?' His last words were calmer, but still the shock could be heard clearly in his voice.

Merlin giggled as he nodded. 'Yeah... but it's mostly theoretical.' He handed the blond the little note and Arthur read it... he was lost after the first line. 'But I don't have the equipment to make it.' He shook his head. 'I finally know how to create it and it's still worthless.'

The older man stared at him before he lay his hand on Merlin's shoulder. 'What the hell are you talking about? This is amazing, you're one step closer to changing the world... Do you know where you can make it?'

The grin appeared partly back on the raven's face as he heard Arthur's words. 'I know where, it means we can travel together.' Arthur looked confused at him. 'The settlement near New York, I told you that I had radio contact with them for a while, they built it around another laboratory. It was where my mentor Gaius taught me everything he knew and I'm almost positive that they have the right equipment there.'

Arthur's face lit up as he grabbed both Merlin's shoulders in his hands, eying him with a wide smile... they could stay together for at least a while longer. He had absolutely no idea why he felt so much for a man that he had met just a couple of days ago, he just couldn't place it, it wasn't a bond like lovers, more like that of brothers... yes, that was the right word for it, he loved Merlin like a brother. 'I'm glad.' He eventually answered as he saw that Merlin looked at him with confusion in his eyes, which disappeared immediately after.

'So when do we leave.'

'As soon as possible.' Arthur said determined, they had to go to a safe place, he had to go back to his father, he had to keep Merlin save.

xxx

Merlin listened to the sound of Arthur's breathing as a small smile was spread over his face. He was so glad that they had met... he wouldn't admit it, but he had been lonely. The smile soon fell as his fingers brushed over the gold around his finger, his mind shifting to Morgana. He missed her most of all, she had been his soul mate, they were the same and at the same time so different. He remembered her pitch black hair, her beautiful enchanting eyes and those warm lips, he hadn't deserved her...

Arthur reminded him of her, they had the same fire in them, even though both expressed it differently. It felt calming to have the blond around, it felt safe. A different safety from when he was with Morgana.

His hand shifted for a moment to the paper in the pocket of his trousers, the cure. They had wrapped it in plastic so it wouldn't get wet even if they got soaked, which was rather likely since they would go on Arthur's motorcycle, or better said the motorcycle he had found and Merlin hoped that Arthur could drive.

They decided not to take much with them, wanting to travel light in case they had to make a run for it. It was also the reason why they decided to go with the bike.

Merlin felt how his eyelids started to drop and he smiled as he felt himself carried away by the joy of dreamland, knowing it would be his last peaceful night in a long time.

But it was a yell that brought him out of his sleep, he blinked rapidly, eying his surroundings with confusion as the darkness of night was still there. Another scream filled the air and he shot up, trying to listen to his surroundings as he ignored his own rapid heartbeat. He soon noticed many gunshots, coming closer and closer to them. Merlin's hand reached for Arthur, feeling his warmth next to him, but it was clear that he was still asleep.

Again he heard the screams, but now he could hear them better and he was shocked. They weren't from fear, they were from joy, a certain kind of wicked pleasure.

Now his other hand reached for Arthur, shaking the blond. 'Arthur.' He hissed. Instincts kicked in as Arthur almost jumped up, expecting an undead to be standing in front of him. 'Arthur.' He said again and the blond's eyes stopped on Merlin's as Arthur's eyes ran rapidly through the room.

'Wh-.' Arthur stopped as he heard another shout, this time it was way too close for comfort. What they heard next was even more shocking, soft moans could be heard. These people led zombies towards them. Arthur jumped up, dragging Merlin with him as he hissed. 'They!'

'Who?'

Arthur blinked at him for a moment, sleep still slightly spread in his mind. 'I saw them this afternoon, but... I have a bad feeling about them.' Merlin nodded that he understood, he trusted Arthur. The blond quickly made his way to the table, tugging the last supplies in the backpacks before he handed Merlin one of the two guns. 'Just in case.' Arthur replied as they locked eyes, blue meeting blue and the raven could see the fear in those eyes.

'We will be alright.' And he meant it.

He saw how Arthur bit his lips, but the older man nodded. 'I hope so.'

Merlin smiled lightly, he knew it would all end well if he stayed with Arthur. Without another word he leaned forward, throwing his arms around the blond as he tried to comfort the other. They may have known each other just mere days, but it didn't feel forced. 'We just ha-.' But he couldn't finish his words as they sounds of shattering glass spread through the whole building.

Both their eyes grew wide as they looked at each other. 'What was that?'

Merlin gulped. 'Glass shattering... I think it came from the front door.' He paled as he spoke his own words, knowing that that was the place where the loud group and the undead were.

Arthur was the first one who moved, pushing one of the backpacks and his jacket in Merlin's arms as he pulled the other over his shoulder, tugging the other gun in his holster as his other hand reached for the baseball bat. 'I fear we have to go.'

The raven looked startled at the backpack before eying Arthur. '... And the motorcycle?'

'We have to get it on our way out.'

Merlin didn't answer him as his only reply was biting his lip, did they really have to do that?

Arthur hurried to the hallway, his eyes snapping around before he turned back to the smaller man. 'None of them in sight, come on, we may not have much time.' Merlin took a deep breath and tried to shake the fear out of his head.

He quickly followed Arthur as he grabbed one of the kitchen knives. It was the biggest one they had and he gripped it tightly in his hands, his knuckles turning white. He was glad that Arthur took the lead, somehow he knew that he would do something stupid like tripping over his own feet or just shooting into the air at the smallest noise.

They turned around the last corner and he almost bumped into Arthur as the man suddenly stopped. Merlin looked past him, his eyes growing wide as he saw that at least half a dozen of zombies had made their way inside. He had only a moment to register what was happening before the undead caught sight of them and a low hissing left their lips.

The largest one of them roared as he lunged for them and Merlin pressed himself to the wall. Arthur on the other hand wasn't as fast and was dragged to the ground, the undead on top of him.

Merlin stared in shock at the scene in front of him and without another thought he plunged his knife in the undead's neck, killing the creature as the blade traveled to its brain. He pulled out and pushed the zombie off of Arthur while releasing the breath he hadn't even realized he was holding, the blond was pale as a sheet, but was furthermore unharmed.

The raven's head snapped around as he sensed another zombie lunging for him, he pressed the blade into its skull. He yelped slightly as he felt pressure on his wrist and he feared for a moment that he had broken it, but luckily that wasn't the case even though it was throbbing painfully.

Arthur stood next to him again, with his bat killing three more zombies. The last zombie in the hallway lunged for Merlin. He barely had time to realize what was happening and lifted his arms in attempt to protect himself, even though it was more an instinct than real a real defense.

But before the rotten teeth could sink into his pink flesh he heard Arthur yell as he saw the black and red bat out of the corner of his eyes, slamming the undead into the wall and he heard the sickening sound of bone breaking.

The next thing he saw where those brilliant blue orbs hovering in front of him. 'Are you okay, did he bit you?' Merlin shook his head as he felt his whole body shiver in shock. He could see the fear in Arthur's eyes soften slightly as the man turned around, pulling the key of the motorcycle out of his pocket and he pushed it to the door.

Merlin's hand reached for his breast pocket in his jacket, feeling the paper under his touch and a small smile reached his face, they would bring the cure to New York and then everything would turn out alright. His head snapped up again and he followed Arthur to the door.

The blond looked at him and Merlin saw how Arthur took deep breaths. 'On three you have to open the door and quickly get behind me on the bike.'

The raven nodded as he pushed the key in the lock, making sure that he wouldn't touch the broken glass and he waited for Arthur.

'...One... two... three!' The last he shouted and Merlin threw the door open. Arthur shot forward and again was followed by Merlin. He held the knife tightly in his hand as he slammed it into the left eye of the closest undead, it sank to the ground and Merlin's eyes snapped around, rather relieved that there weren't any zombies close by and quickly got behind Arthur.

The blond started the engine and accelerated. Merlin slammed his arms around Arthur's waist, carefully not to stab him with the knife as they started to drive.

Arthur didn't go as fast as the bike could because he didn't want to run into any undead as he carefully dodged them. But Merlin's eyes grew as he saw the scene in front of them, the road's width started to decrease, causing there to be very little space between the zombies.

Again Arthur tried to dodge them as they lunged for the two living men, their hands trying to grab them as they went past the undead.

It was then that he felt one of their hands wrap around his legs, holding on tight as he pulled Merlin off the motor. Merlin yelled in shock as his body hit the concrete, forcing the air out of his body and his lungs demanded for air. He was barely able to turn around and face the zombie that had dragged him off the motor before the creature jumped on him. His hand shot up to his knife, which he thankfully still had, plunging it deep into the undead's chin. He quickly pushed him off and jumped to his feet.

But instead of a zombie trying to bite him he felt a razor sharp knife at his throat.


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N: Hello everyone. Already the fourth chapter. So we will go on from were the last chapter had ended and will see what happens to Merlin... Won't say much, only; please enjoy and tell me what you thought of it.**_

xxx

Merlin's eyes widened in shock as he felt the blade of the knife against his skin, his whole body tensed up as he tried not to move. He heard a small snicker before he was roughly pulled against someone's chest, the blade still pressed hard against his neck and an arm was wrapped around his waist.

He could feel warm breath against his ear as his captor whispered to him. 'Don't you dare move, otherwise I will slit your pretty throat and your friend will be next.' Merlin gasped at the words, words that were spoken with a certain wicked darkness.

Merlin's breathing quickened, but he didn't move, he was too scared to do anything. His eyes shifted to Arthur, who stared at all of them with big shocked eyes, his lips pressed in a thin line.

His captor chuckled before he shifted slightly behind him. 'Get the rest of these zombies.' It took Merlin a second before he realized that the man was talking to the other men as he heard them mumble softly behind them. The man turned back to Arthur, laughing devilishly at him. 'Don't you dare move, if you do so than I will slice his throat.'

'Why are you doing this?' Arthur almost growled and Merlin saw how his hands were clenched together, turning his knuckles white.

The man laughed amused. 'Are you really asking me that. Isn't it clear, the world came to an end, I'm just trying to survive. So now that we cleared that up, give us all your provisions, weapons and that motorcycle of yours.' When Arthur didn't even make an attempt to move, the man's voice darkened. 'Give them to me or I will kill him!' Merlin gasped as he felt the knife's pressure increase and the blade break his skin.

'Stop!' Arthur yelled. 'I will give you what you want, just let go of him.' The captor smirked, but he didn't release Merlin, he just watched as Arthur handed the motorcycle and bags over to the man's 'friends'.

'And your weapons.'

'We need them!'

'Without your supplies you will already be dead, now give me your weapons.'

Arthur breathed deeply in. 'Fine!' He hissed through his teeth before he hesitantly handed over both his gun and his bat.

'You know what, I will give you some slack, you can keep your little baseball bat.' The captor's attention came back to Merlin as he leaned forward and hissed in his ear. 'And what kind of weapons do you carry?' The raven gasped when he felt the large hand around his waist roam over his chest and sides, searching for hidden weapons. It eventually stopped on the gun at his hips. 'So what do we have here?' The man pulled the gun out and put it in his own pocket.

'You have what you want, now let me go.' Merlin hissed.

'Just have a little patience, I'm almost finished.' He whispered again before he turned back to his men. 'Now light that building on fire-.'

'What!' Both Merlin and Arthur yelled.

'-and get back to the cars.'

Merlin could hear the sickening sound of fire and tears spread through his eyes. It felt foolish to act like that, but... that lab had been his home for several months and... it was the place where he met Morgana and the place he lost her. 'Why?' He whispered.

The man snickered again. 'Because it will attract those filthy zombies, giving us a chance to make it out safe, I'm not a fool like you might think. I know how this world works, the strong ones survive, even when it means letting the weak ones die.'

'You're heartless.'

Merlin could feel the man's chest rise as he laughed. 'I know, it's how I survive... Now it seems my men are ready, guess it's time to say goodbye.' With that said he retracted the knife and pushed Merlin forward, causing him to stumble to the ground. He quickly turned around, just in time to see the back of the man that had held him hostage. The large brunette quickly made his way into one of the cars and they drove off.

The raven blinked in shock for a moment before he felt Arthur's hand on his shoulder, he glanced at the man and saw how those deep blue eyes glared angrily at the men as they drove off. His own hand reached for his neck and he felt blood against the white of his skin, luckily the knife had barely broken the skin and it wouldn't take long to heal at all.

His thoughts shot back to Arthur and he felt fear rise in his heart. It was all his fault that they lost their provisions and weapons... 'Arthur?'

The blond's eyes snapped towards him and he held his breath as he saw those angry eyes pierce his own, but the anger was quickly replaced by relief and concern. 'Are you okay?' Arthur's shocked voice asked as his hand shifted to Merlin's neck.

'I-I'm fine... and I'm sorry...'

Arthur's eyes blinked rapidly as he stared at him with confusion. 'Wh-... No!' He grabbed Merlin by the shoulders, shaking him as if he tried to shake the thought out of him. 'Merlin, this wasn't your fault. It was those filthy-.' He didn't finish his words as his head snapped around. 'We have to go, the fire will attract the undead and without anything more than a bat we can't hold up against large zombie groups.'

'But how will we get out of here, we don't have the motorcycle anymore and no food at all, how will we get around?'

'We will find a way, we can't just stay here and let ourselves be killed, we have to survive and get the cure back to the settlement!' He pulled Merlin up with him as he gripped his bat tightly in his hands. 'Let's go.'

Merlin gave him a quick silent nod as he followed the blond. His eyes rested on the baseball bat in Arthur's hands, he also needed to find a weapon. He quickly scanned the ground and his eyes rested on a large branch on the side of the path and he picked it up, it was not much, but the best he could do for now. He held the branch in his right hand while his other reached for the inside pocket of his jacket, touching the paper with the cure on it. It felt reassuring to know it was still there.

It took them an hour before they reached the nearest town, they encountered a couple of undead on the way, but not as many as Merlin had thought they would meet... Both Merlin and Arthur kept quiet as they made their way through the town, knowing that with every sound they made they could attract more zombies. 'We could go inside one of the houses and search for provisions.'

Arthur eyed him for a moment, thinking about the idea before he nodded. 'You're right, even so I fear these buildings may already be cleared out by 'them'.'

They carefully chose one of the houses, one which had most likely housed a family, and a family probably meant a lot of stock. Again Arthur took the lead and Merlin followed, watching the blond's back. They stopped by the front door and Arthur turned once to look back at Merlin to make sure the raven was ready before he kicked open the front door. They waited for a moment, watching to see if the undead would come as they heard the sound, but after a minute had passed they went inside.

Arthur went to the right, while Merlin scanned the left side of the house. He quickly walked forward, through the living room and towards the kitchen. The only thing that showed the fear he felt was his quick breathing. His eyes scanned the room and he was relieved to see it was empty. Merlin threw the cabinets open and a bright smile spread over his cheeks, it was only the first house and they had immediately hit the jackpot. He quickly gathered a few cans of canned food and placed them on top of the counter before he searched for something to hold them in, it was not much, but enough for at least three days.

He quickly searched further, finding a backpack in the hallway and he quickly returned to the kitchen, but just as he was filling it with the cans, he heard a soft hissing noise and he snapped around.

His eyes grew wide and he held his breath at the sight in front of him. It was a sick sight, one he would never have expected to encounter... but one he should have been prepared for.

In front of him stood a child, undead, her eyes blinded with dead and a large chunk of flesh was ripped out of her arm, staining her baby blue dress with dried blood. Her blond hair was tied up in ponytail with a blue butterfly clip on the left side. He wanted to throw up as he heard her hiss again, showing him her teeth.

It was then that she roared and ran towards him, all intentions of ripping off his flesh and eating it. In instinct he slammed the wood against her head, hearing the sick crushing sound of her skull breaking and she slumped down to the ground, lying motionless with an broken skull.

Merlin looked at her as he sank to his knees and the tears began to roll down his cheeks, it wasn't fair, she was innocent.. she was just a little girl.

Arthur had apparently heard the noise because he came running into the room, the bat above his head, ready to attack if necessary, but as soon as he saw Merlin he lowered it. 'Merlin, are you alright?' He heard Arthur ask, but the voice sounded far away and he barely even noticed the two strong arms that wrapped around him.

'She was just a little girl.' He whispered and he could feel the arms tighten slightly. '... It's not fair.'

'I know, none of this is fair, but we have to survive, so don't look anymore.'

Merlin nodded as he stood up, trying to prevent his eyes from landing on the dead body in the room as he quickly pulled the backpack over his shoulder.

'I found some car keys, for what I hope is the car outside.' Arthur said as he showed the keys in his hand to the raven and Merlin quickly followed him outside. To their relief it was indeed the key to the family car and they quickly packed up.

Merlin glanced once back, his thoughts shadowed by those little girl's dead eyes... at least he had freed her from this dark fate.


	5. Chapter 5

_**A/N: So here's the next chapter for all of you! I decided to add a few extra things that I hadn't planned in my original storyline to give it a bit more excitement. So please enjoy and tell me what you thought of it.**_

xxx

Arthur sighed slightly as he watched the dark road ahead before his eyes shifted for a moment to Merlin sleeping in the seat next to him. They had been on the road for almost three days, or better said two as they had spend almost a whole day hiding from a large group of undead.

The zombies seemed to be forming large groups and it scared him. He and Merlin had talked about it and he couldn't drive one question out of his head; Were the undead able to think and decide for themselves? Grouping up sounded like a plan as it would make up for their speed, but... was it a plan or was it instinct that told them to do so?

But it didn't take away from the fact that the zombies tried to eat them and that they had to defend themselves.

In the corner of his eyes he saw how Merlin shifted nervously in his seat and Arthur knew that it was the nightmares again. Ever since they had encountered that little zombie girl Merlin had them. He pitied his younger friend, Arthur himself may have seen such things before, but he knew that Merlin had spent almost the whole time locked up in the lab.

A deep sigh left Arthur's lips, hopefully they would be safe at the settlement near New York.

They drove for the rest of the night and most of the day, once stopping so they could refill the gas. It was around five o'clock when they stopped at a large supermarket. Their food was running out and they had to restock.

Till then they hadn't made long stops, knowing they could be attacked at any moment, but now they had no other choice. But that wasn't even what scared Arthur the most, the thing that scared him the most was their lack of weapons. Yes, he had his baseball bat and Merlin had his stick, (and a couple of knives they had found in the house, but they weren't really of much use against the undead as they were too short), but still... He looked back at Merlin who was staring nervously in front of him. 'Ready?'

Merlin turned to him and nodded. 'Yes, let's just do this.'

Arthur gave him a nod in agreement and he took a deep breath, his fingers tightening themselves around the wood of his bat. He locked eyes with Merlin one more time and counted to three, on three they threw open the doors and quickly got out and made their way towards the shop.

He pulled open the door, knowing that Merlin would have his back and his eyes quickly scanned the room inside, he could see only one zombie inside and he told this to Merlin. They quickly discussed the situation and decided that they would take that one out.

Arthur sneaked around a couple of shelves, hoping that he could surprise the undead, but just as he rounded the last shelve a loud metal noise filled the store. A quick glance back told him that Merlin had tripped over a metal display.

The blond froze for a moment, hoping that the zombie hadn't heard, but the undead snapped around, holding his head slightly to the side before it roared and made his way towards them. Arthur cursed before he jumped up and swung his bat to the zombie, hitting the creature in the shoulder and throwing him to the ground.

But it wasn't enough to kill the zombie as it quickly got back to its feet and lunged for the blond, wanting to bite in his flesh with its rotten teeth. He swung his bat again, but this time he missed the zombie and was thrown off balance. Arthur yelped in shock as he stumbled after the baseball bat, eventually falling to the ground and he could already imagine the feeling of the teeth sinking into his skin.

But instead of that pain he heard a growl and a zooming noise before something broke above him and something heavy fell on top of him. Arthur immediately started struggling, pushing the weight off of him and he snapped around. His eyes met Merlin's, who stood above him before he looked at the body next to him. The zombie lay lifeless next to him, his skull broken. Arthur could barely comprehend that he had just stared death in the eye, and Merlin had saved his life.

Both stared at each other in shock for a moment and it was Merlin who was the first to get out of it. 'Are you okay?' The raven asked in a mix of fear and concern.

Arthur gave him a quick nod. 'Yes... thanks for saving me.' Merlin offered him his hand and pulled the blond up. 'Let's quickly get what we need and get out of here.' Merlin agreed and they quickly made their ways through the store. It was clear that someone had been in here before. The shelves were mostly empty, except the rotten vegetables. They quickly threw as many cans of canned food into a few bags and pulled them over their shoulders. 'Let's go.'

Merlin nodded as he followed Arthur. Arthur quickly made his way to the front door, but just as he walked through the door he saw something swing towards him. Something hard met his head and everything went black.

xxx

A deep groan left Arthur's lips as his consciousness took over, his head was throbbing with pain and he couldn't help how another groan left his lips. His hand shot up towards his head and a frown spread over his face. Under his fingers he felt the soft fabric of bandages and immediately his eyes shot open.

In his memory he searched for what had happened, but the last thing he remembered was how he and Merlin left the store... no, they tried to leave the store...

He almost jumped upwards as he hissed. 'Merlin!' His eyes shot through the room, barely taking in his surroundings. He was in a small bedroom with a single bed, a closet and a couple of bookshelves, it was clearly a spare bedroom. Arthur quickly scrambled out of bed, ignoring the stinging pain in his head.

Arthur half ran, half stumbled to the door, snatching it open before he quickly glanced through the hallway. He froze in shock as his eyes met brown orbs, both staring shocked at each other.

Arthur however was the first one to move as his fist shot forward, meeting the man's chin with as much power as possible. The man stumbled backwards, grabbing his chin with his hands as he looked hurt at Arthur. 'Wh-?'

'Where did you take me? Where's Merlin?' The last Arthur almost spit out as he felt fear for his friend's safety.

Immediately he heard footsteps and a door slammed open. 'Arthur!' He heard Merlin yell and his head snapped around, his eyes searching desperately for the younger male and he sighed in relief when he found him.

Merlin was staring with a rather startled look at him. There were two more people behind him, staring at Arthur with shock and anger. Arthur didn't hesitate for a moment before he reached for the raven and pulled Merlin behind him.

The smaller man gasped in response as he was suddenly dragged forward, but he didn't care for that at this moment, he just needed to get Merlin to safety. Arthur narrowed his eyes as he stared at the group, still not sure if they were enemies or friends.

'Arthur!' Merlin yelped behind him and he felt the raven's hand on his arm. 'Don't, they're friends.'

He softened a bit, but not completely as he still not did not trust these people. The most important thing he had learned in this world was that you definitely can't trust anyone... Fine, he trusted Merlin, but the man was an exception. Merlin was almost family... no, he was family since he had been Morgana's fiancé.

The man he had just punched glared at him, but gave him a slight nod as he straightened his back. 'Yeah, we don't mean any harm... Ouch, you definitely can throw a punch.' The last bit the man practically growled as he rubbed his chin.

Merlin's fingers tightened themselves around Arthur's arm. 'I'm sorry Jack.' He turned to face Arthur. 'Say sorry?'

The blond blinked for a moment before a glare spread over his face. 'You can't be serious!' Merlin didn't release his own glare and it was Arthur who finally gave up. 'Fine...' He hissed before he turned to Jack. 'I'm sorry for punching you.'

Jack looked rather amused at the two of them, but his eyes had clearly softened. 'It's alright... I guess I can't blame you as I was the one who knocked you out in the store.' The last he almost snickered.

Arthur's eyes grew wide as he realized what the other meant. 'You-.'

Merlin came between them, clearly trying to change to topic. 'But that doesn't matter now, he just thought we were two zombies. Now let me introduce you to everyone.' He said with a grin as he turned to Jack, Jack was a tall man around 30 with blond hair and brown eyes. 'You already met Jack and they are Anne and Philip.' The last he said as he waved at the other two people. A small brown haired woman around the age of 25 waved at him and next to her a bald man of 40 gave him a nod.

With that said Merlin pulled Arthur with him, dragging him into one of the rooms. Inside he met three more pairs of curious eyes and he tried to give them all a smile, still a bit nervous.

One of the pair of eyes was from a small girl, probably not older than 8 who jumped up and ran towards him. Her bright gray eyes stared up at him from under her dark blond hair and a smile spread over her face. 'Hi, I'm Jenny.'

He blinked for a moment at her before a soft grin spread over his lips. 'Hi Jenny, I'm Arthur.'

She nodded as her eyes shot for a moment to Merlin before turning back to Arthur. 'Yes, Merlin told us. He also told us about you saving him from those bad guys and how the two of you are going to New York.'

Arthur eyed Merlin for a moment before he leaned in and whispered. 'How much did you tell them.'

'Only that we're going to New York, not about the cure.'

'What're the two of you whispering about?' Jenny asked curiously.

Merlin kneeled down so they were the same height and she jumped into his arms. 'Nothing much, just something between us two, but now let Arthur meet the others.' She nodded and took a step back as the raven stood up again. Merlin walked over to a 30 year old man, his dark brown hair was cut short and his blue eyes glared at Arthur. 'This is Derek and the woman next to him is Emmy, she's Philip's wife.' Emmy was around 45 with light brown hair and kind brown eyes.

Emmy stood up, kissing Arthur on both cheeks before she asked. 'Do you want some tea?' Without hearing the answer she walked away.

Merlin behind him chuckled softly and pushed him onto one of the couches, settling himself next to the blond.

Jack sat down in the large brown chair opposite of them and it didn't take long before Emmy returned with the tea. She handed everyone a teacup before sitting down.

Jack watched everyone before his eyes rested on Arthur's blue one's. Clearly measuring him up, trying to see if Arthur would be of any use to him. He took a deep sigh before he said. 'I will first say that this house is a safe place and I can reassure you that no Walkers can come in. There's a large brick wall around the whole house and the front is locked with a heavy chain.' He chuckled softly. 'We were lucky to have stumbled on this place... but enough about this place. I really want to know what you have encountered in your travels.'

Arthur gave him a nod before he started to talk.


	6. Chapter 6

_**A/N: Hello people! So here's the next chapter for this story. sorry it took so long, but me and my beta reader have been really busy with life! But we will try to get the next chapter up as quickly as possible. Next chapter: the action begins. So I won't hold you up for much longer, so please enjoy and tell me what you thought of it.**_

xxx

Arthur leaned against the window, watching the walls outside. They had been in the mansion for three days now and he felt the pressure to travel further, but... Jack and the others wanted to go with them, and they needed time to gather their things and collect enough food for the trip.

A soft sigh left his lips, he wasn't really fond of the idea of them traveling along with Merlin and him. They would be a large group and that would definitely attract the attention of more zombies, besides it wasn't as if they were a strong group, both Jenny and Emmy would slow them down. Not that he would leave those two behind, either all of them would come, or none at all.

Merlin had become rather close to most of the group, especially Jenny. The little girl seemed to adore him, following him everywhere and clinging to him when she thought no one was watching her. He suspected that Jenny saw Merlin as some sort of older brother, maybe he reminded her of someone she once knew. Merlin didn't seem to mind, he just wore his goofy grin as he helped the others pack. None of them were related, they had met each other on the road, just like he and Merlin... even though he and Merlin were practically family. Currently they were packing both their car and the SUV that was parked in the mansion's garage. They would travel in two cars.

The only person that Arthur wasn't able to understand was Derek, the man apparently was only able to glare and he really wasn't that great of a help. He mostly kept to himself, sulking and he barely said a word even when they were all together.

But he shouldn't complain, it wasn't as if there were a lot of people to choose from. Jack had found a couple of guns in a cupboard, and Derek seemed to be a great shot, but the brown haired man definitely made him feel uneasy. The way Derek looked at him, it just sent shivers down his spine.

'Arthur.' The blond looked up, meeting Jack's eyes and smiled at him. 'What're doing?' Jack asked.

Arthur liked the older man, Jack was someone you could trust without a second thought, guess he was just like Merlin. His eyes were just so kind. 'Just thinking.' He answered. 'Do you think we will be able to leave tomorrow morning?'

The other blond nodded. 'Yes, we're ahead of schedule. The only thing we have to discuss is how we divide everyone between the cars.' A soft grin spread over Jack's lips. 'I guess that Jenny will be in whichever car Merlin is in.'

A laugh left Arthur's lips at the thought of separating those two. 'Yes and he will be in the car with me.' The last he said as his eyes turned serious. He may trust Jack, but that didn't mean that he would allow Merlin out of his sight, not out there at least.

Jack nodded. 'Then that will mean you, Merlin and Jenny will be in one car. Emmy and Philip also want to be together so they will be in the other car with me... That only leaves Derek and Anne... I will take Anne and then Derek will be in your car.' He declared.

He may not trust Derek completely, but the man was definitely a strong fighter and a great help just in case they were attacked. 'That sounds like a plan.' His eyes shifted outdoors again. The ride would take two days, two days before he would see his father again... at least that was what he hoped, in the back of his mind he still feared that the settlement might not have survived.

'I'm going finish with the preparations, I suggest you do the same, the earlier we leave the better.' With that said Jack stared a moment more at Arthur before turning to leave.

xxx

Merlin smiled and knelt down as he felt Jenny pull at the fabric of his trousers. 'Are we really going to be alright out there?' She looked at him with large pleading gray eyes.

He gave her a reassuring smile. 'Everything is going to be fine, I promise you.'

Jenny blinked for a moment more before a large sob left her lips and one big tear rolled over her cheek. '... That was what my big brother told me and he lied to me, it wasn't fine!' She ended with another sob before she threw herself in his arms. 'Don't you dare lie to me too!'

Merlin looked down at her blond hair before he wrapped his arms gently around her small body, his eyes shot for a moment to Emmy, who was the only other person in the room. The older woman gave him a sad smile in return and he just nodded. Everybody had lost so much in this world, so many people they cared for. Merlin didn't reply to the little girl's words, knowing that there was no answer he could give her that would make everything alright.

She cried into his shoulder, staining his shirt with her big wet tears. It took another couple of minutes for her to calm down. The little girl looked up with big red eyes. 'Promise me that you won't leave me.'

'I promise you that I won't leave you.' Merlin answered as he brushed her hair. 'But for now we have to finish preparing and you can help us.' He said as he handed her a small bag, distraction was the best thing he could offer her at the moment.

She gave him a quick sad nod, but took the bag and turned back to help Emmy. Merlin watched her as he tried to hold back the tears he felt entering his eyes. His hand shot unconsciously to the ring around his finger, his thoughts wandering off to Morgana, how he longed to see her again, hold her in his arms and stroke her soft black hair.

The golden ring was the only thing he had left of her and somehow he knew that she would be the only love in his life, he would never love another, he was certain of it.

He reached for the soft paper in his pocket, the cure, he had made it for her. She had begged him to finish the work she had started, create a cure so no one else would suffer their fate, to lose the person they loved... even though most had already lost so much.

Merlin pulled his legs up before he wrapped his arms around them, maybe it would have been better if he had died and she had lived. Morgana had always been smarter and stronger then he would ever be, she would have been able to survive in this world... he needed help, he had put Arthur in danger because he was... weak... so weak.

He was brought back to reality when he heard Jack's voice and he turned to face the older man. 'How is it going here?' Jack asked as he placed his hands on his side, smiling softly at the three people in the room.

Emmy smiled at him. 'It's going perfect, we're ahead of schedule and almost all of the food is sorted and packed.'

'Good, good... Oh and all of you will be happy to hear that I have finally decided on the grouping for the cars. Arthur, Merlin, Jenny and Derek will be in the first car and the rest will be in the car with me.'

Jenny smiled broadly before she lunged herself into Merlin's arms. 'Oh, isn't it great? We're in the same group.'

'Yes, it's great.' He answered with a soft smile.

xxx

Arthur walked past the kitchen and peaked inside as he heard Jack. He smiled softly as he watched Jenny lunge for Merlin and he saw the gentleness on the raven's face. It was clear that he enjoyed being in her presence.

He backed out of the room, he would let Merlin enjoy his time with Jenny, he would talk with the raven later. The blond walked further down the hall, he would see if he could help Anne or Philip with packing... or maybe even Derek, even though he had a feeling the man would simply refuse any help.

The next few hours he helped Philip with loading. The man was rather happy with the help, chatting happily to Arthur as if they had been friends for years and Arthur had to say that he enjoyed the conversation. He liked the man even though he talked about the past a bit too much, about his house, his life with Emmy and a lot of lost friends.

It was a rather nervous feeling to work outside at the same time they heard the sounds of the wandering dead. He actually wanted to run inside, grab as many guns as possible and get out, but he just had to believe that they were safe, the walls were strong and the fence was made of thick metal.

They had finished just before dinner and so they sat down with the others as they ate their last dinner in the mansion. Arthur smiled as he saw the rather enthusiastic reactions of the others, they were all excited to travel tomorrow.

It wasn't long after dinner that everyone went to bed, it was going to be a couple of long tiring days, so they all needed their rest. Arthur watched as Merlin took off with Jenny, he was going to put her to bed before going to sleep himself, while the others cleaned up the dishes. Derek left as well, not even bothering to clean up after himself.

After cleaning he slowly made his way towards his room, knowing that Merlin was probably already asleep, they shared a bedroom. The sun had already sank outside, it was the time of the living dead.

He suddenly froze as he heard a soft noise, his instincts taking over and his head snapped around searching for the origin of the sound. It was silent for a moment more, before he heard another noise. His eyes shot to the door just a few feet away from him. There was definitely someone behind it... it couldn't be a zombie, right? They couldn't come into the mansion. Still the thought didn't completely satisfy him and he grabbed the lamp on the cupboard before he made his way towards the door, slowly as to not make any sounds.

He reached for the doorknob and slowly opened the door, he stiffened for a moment as the door creaked, and he threw the door open. His eyes shot through the room, resting on the small movement in the room before bright eyes stared at him. The stress in his body immediately disappeared as he recognized the man inside, Derek.

Derek blinked for a moment to him before he quickly closed the box in front of him and he straightened his back. 'Ah, Arthur.' He said with a somewhat forced smile.

Arthur narrowed his eyes as his blue orbs rested themselves on the box, it was Jack's gun box. 'What were you doing?'

'Just looking through the guns.' Derek answered nonchalant before he stepped forward, closing the distance between the two of them. 'But that's not important at the moment. There's something I want to discuss with you.'

'And what's that?'

Derek walked around Arthur before he leaned against the door frame, blocking Arthur's way out before he answered him. 'You must have thought it through as well, but with the group we have now we will never be able to make it to New York, you must know this too.' The last he said a bit stronger as if to make it clear. 'This world isn't a world for the weak, it's survival of the strongest and we have to follow this rule. And that's what I'm planning on doing, I'm not planning on letting them drag me down.' He waited for a moment. 'And you should follow me.'

'You plan on leaving everyone behind!'

'Yes and you should come with me. You're strong and brave and that boy will only drag you down. Just leave him.'

Arthur glared at Derek, he would never leave Merlin behind, not for this 'monster'. Derek was willing to let everyone die to survive. 'I will stay by Merlin's side!' The blond hissed at him, before he pushed Derek to the side and stormed off. 'You can do whatever you want, but I won't come with you.'

He didn't even turn around as Derek shouted. 'You will regret that, you will all regret it!'


	7. Chapter 7

_**A/N: So this next chapter up rather soon, but even so I must warn everyone that the next chapter may take some time as I and my beta reader both have at least two busy weeks, so the next chapter will probably take some time. Unless we get a lot of inspiration and I can write it earlier and she's also able to beta it quickly. **_

_**But about this chapter, the action will begin. Won't say much more and I wish you all a nice reading!**_

**_Update: Sorry everyone I made a little mistake in the names. It are Philip and Emmy who are married. So I changed it._**

xxx

Merlin opened his eyes as he heard the door open. His eyes shifted for a moment to the door and a soft smile crossed his lips as he saw Arthur walk inside. He had actually been waiting for the man to come back to their room, even though he was so tired he could fall asleep at any moment now. 'Where were you?'

Arthur stopped in his tracks and a pair of tired eyes looked up at him. 'Still awake?' Arthur asked, but Merlin could hear that the blond was upset about something.

Merlin pushed himself up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. 'What's wrong with you?'

He didn't immediately get a reaction as Arthur pulled off his shirt and sat down on his bed. 'I spoke with Derek, I think he's going to leave without us.'

'We have to tell Jack!' Merlin said as he jumped up, but Arthur's hand stopped him from leaving.

'Don't... I don't trust Derek and maybe... maybe it's better if he leaves on his own. I would rather go on without him.'

Merlin sank down on the bed next to Arthur, staring curiously at him. He too didn't trust Derek, but... the man shouldn't, couldn't go out on his own, it would be his death. 'You truly believe that this is the right thing to do?'

Arthur nodded. 'Yes, it's his own choice and I don't want to be stabbed in my back while we're fighting the undead.' He pinched the bridge of his noise before he added. 'He wanted me to go with him.'

Merlin's eyes sank to the floor. That would mean leaving him behind... Somehow it would have been better for Arthur if he had done that, he only slowed the blond down. '... Do you want to go with him... that way I won't slow you down.' He whispered.

He could feel Arthur stiffen next to him before two rough hands grabbed him by the shoulders. 'Never say that again!' Arthur hissed before he released the raven again. '... Remember how you saved my life the first day we met and you were the genius who created the cure... I never could have come this far without you, we need each other.' The last he said as he pulled Merlin in a tight hug.

Merlin himself stiffened for a moment before he gave in and wrapped his arms around the blond. He felt a bit relieved, Arthur didn't think of him as a burden... right? Arthur was the only one he had left.

It was a bit awkward when they released each other and a deep blush spread over the blond's cheeks, but neither regretted it. Without another word they went to sleep, Merlin still a bit nervous, but he hoped it would all turn out alright.

xxx

_Merlin ran through the darkness, he could hear the soft moaning of the dead, but he couldn't see them, he couldn't see the danger. He felt the panic spread through his mind and he just wanted to disappear, it was too lonely, he couldn't take it anymore._

_A groan left his lips as he ran into a wall that suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Black bricks as dark as the darkness around him. A tear ran over his cheek as he sank down, his fists slamming into the wall. He ignored the warm blood that dripped from a small cut in his forehead, slowly blinding his left eye, but Merlin just didn't care, he curled up into an ball._

_'Merlin.' He heard his name and he looked around, staring at a pair of gentle blue eyes. Arthur was resting on his knees next to him, a soft smile spread over his face before he reached for Merlin and placed a hand on his shoulder. 'What do you think you're doing?'_

_A sob left Merlin's lips and he smiled at the blond, he was relieved that the other was with him, he wasn't alone anymore. '... I... I was scared...' He mumbled in answer to Arthur's question._

_But Merlin froze as he saw Arthur's reaction to his words. Arthur's face darkened as his hand tightened itself around the raven's shoulder. 'You're scared!' Arthur hissed at him and Merlin flinched away as he heard the anger in the other man's voice. 'We're trying to survive and you're trying to tell me that you're scared!' Arthur pushed himself up as he left Merlin on the ground. 'You're absolutely no help at all, you're worth nothing.' He said darkly before he turned around and disappeared into the darkness._

_Merlin wanted to reach for him, but Arthur had already disappeared from his sight and Merlin was alone again. The darkness around him almost seemed to darken further, as if it wanted to turn him into darkness._

_He pushed his back against the wall, the sound of the undead increasing in volume, but still he couldn't see them, he could hear them moan and groan, ready to rip him to pieces... and he was alone... all alone again._

_'I'm not good enough.' He mumbled to himself. 'I'm not strong enough.' He curled himself up, his head resting on his knees as his arms were tangled around his legs, big tears staining his jeans, it was too much._

_'Merlin.' Someone whispered softly to him._

_'No!' He screamed, he had enough of it, he just wanted everything to stop. 'Go away!'_

_'Merlin.' And this time Merlin looked up, he recognized the voice as one he hadn't heard in a very long time. One he had loved so much, so very much._

_'Morgana?' He asked unsure, his heart wanting it so much, but his mind knowing it couldn't be._

_The woman emerged out of the shadows, she wore a pitch black dress and her black hair was playfully tied up in a knot, and walked with the grace she had possessed ever since he first met her. Morgana smiled softly at him as she knelt down next to him, close, but she didn't touch him. 'Yes, it's me.'_

_Merlin pushed himself up slightly as he looked at her with sad eyes. 'I'm sorry for letting you die, I should have protected you... I was too weak.' She didn't answer him, she just stared at him with gentle eyes. 'You should have been the one that survived... I only drag the people around me down.'_

_A soft sigh left her red lips. 'And I'm glad that you were the one that survived Merlin. The people left in this world are hard, they need someone as gentle as you. my brother needs someone like you.'_

_He averted his eyes. 'Arthur doesn't need me, I will only hold him down.'_

_'He needs you like you need him.' She brushed her hand over his cheek and he shivered as he felt the coldness of her skin. 'The two of you need to change the world, it's your destiny.'_

_'You would have done so much better.' He said with a sob._

_Morgana looked at him with hurt eyes, hurt but loving eyes. 'You're so much better than you think, I-' Her words suddenly stopped as her head snapped around and worried eyes looked at the darkness behind her. She turned back to him, looking terrified. 'Merlin, wake up, you have to wake up!' She grabbed him by the shoulders._

_He looked startled at her. 'Morgana, I... I don't understand.'_

_Her eyes grew big. 'Merlin, I love you, but please wake up!' She screamed before she slapped him in the face._

He gaped as his eyes shot open. Was it all a dream? Was she a dream?... It was then that he stiffened as he heard a soft dragging sound before a moan filled the room. His head snapped around as he shot up, his eyes searching for the movement that he heard.

He froze as he saw the sight in front of him. In the doorway stood a zombie, its skin was rotting while its dead eyes looked for its next prey.

Merlin glanced quickly at Arthur, who was still asleep, what was he supposed to do. If he screamed than he would alert the zombie, but if he didn't...

His eyes shot back to the undead, the creature moved from the opening and walked forward into the room. Merlin's hand reached carefully to the side, searching for the lamp he knew was there.

He took a deep breath as he tried to search for the courage to do what he was supposed to do, in his mind he could almost hear Morgana's words. With a quick movement he jumped up from the bed, his hands tightly around the lamp as he swung the object forward, hitting the undead in the head and throwing the undead to the side. 'Arthur!' He yelled as he stood in front of his now wide awake friend.

Arthur almost jumped up, his eyes shooting panicked through the room before they rested on Merlin. 'Merlin, what?'

He wanted to answer, but the zombie answered for him, a loud moan spread through the room and Merlin's eyes shot back to the creature that slowly made its way back up. His grip on the lamp tightened and he felt how Arthur quickly scrambled out of bed and took his position next to Merlin, a short knife in his hands.

The undead jumped to them and Merlin hit the creature in the head right before Arthur plunged the blade into its skull.

The zombie lay motionless on the ground as Arthur and Merlin looked at each other. 'What happened?' The blond asked slightly panicked.

'I don't know, the zombie was already there when I woke up.'

'Luckily you did, otherwise we would have been bitten by now.' Without another word he turned around and put on his shirt and shoes. Merlin followed his example and put on his shoes as he kept an eye on the door. Arthur then searched through one of the drawers before he pulled out a gun.

Merlin looked startled at him. 'Whe-... I thought that they were all locked up in the weapon room.'

Arthur didn't look at him. 'Just in case, now come on, let's see where it came from.' With that said he walked to the hallway, quickly followed by Merlin who had abandoned the lamp for Arthur's second knife.

Merlin glanced into the hallway and stiffened slightly, there was another undead on the other side which Arthur quickly killed. Merlin stared for a moment at the undead before he looked back at Arthur. 'We have to find the others, they may still be asleep.'

The blond gave him a quick nod as they made their way down the hall, they stopped in front of Philip's and Emmy's room. The door was closed which was a relief, the undead may not have reached them yet.

The two of them looked at each other for another moment as Arthur counted to three and they burst into the room, startling the pair inside. Philip and Emmy shot up, the husband quickly covering his wife as they stared startled at the two in the doorway. 'Arthur, Merlin, wha-?' Anne asked startled as Philip narrowed his eyes at them.

'No time to talk, there are zombies inside the mansion.'

'That can't be!'

'Sadly it's the case, we can't stay like this, we have to warn the others!'

Philip nodded before he jumped out of bed and quickly put on his clothes, Emmy doing exactly the same as Merlin and Arthur turned around, keeping watch on the hallway to make sure no other undead came through the door. Merlin really wanted to immediately go and warn the others, but he knew that they shouldn't split up, they were stronger in a small group... He hoped the others were alright.


	8. Chapter 8

_**A/N: Hello everyone! So the next chapter for this story and the excitement begins! I think a lot of you will hate for this one and for a couple in the future, but still... it's my story :P. Though I give you a bit of a big chapter. Big thanks again for my beta reader, she has been a great help even when both she and I are really busy... That said I finally have my holiday! Hope to get the next one to you soon and I wish all of you a nice summer!**_

xxx

Anne and Philip had quickly dressed and were soon ready to travel further through the mansion. The others were in bedrooms downstairs which worried Arthur. If the zombies had been able to get this far up in the mansion then they had most likely reached the other rooms already.

He met Merlin's eyes and saw the fear in his friend's eyes, he knew the younger male was worried about Jenny. Merlin and Jenny clearly had built up a strong bond over the past couple of days. He reached over to him and gave the other a reassuring squeeze to the shoulder. 'It's going to be alright, I'm sure the others are fine.'

Merlin only nodded in response and Arthur could feel the other tremble slightly in fear.

Arthur turned back to Philip and Anne as he asked. 'Everybody ready?'

They all gave him a quick nod before they made their way towards the stairs. They didn't meet anymore undead on the way to the stairs and they hesitated for a moment before going down.

But as they were halfway down a loud scream filled the house, a pain filled scream that pierced their ears and Arthur couldn't help but flinch in response. The others had almost the same reactions and he felt Merlin grab his arm.

It was clear what that scream meant, at least one of their group been bitten... They had to act now before someone else got hurt. He glanced once at Merlin and the raven let go of his arm.

Arthur breathed in once deeply before he stormed down, his gun and knife tightly in his hands, ready to react if needed. He threw open the door to the hallway on the second floor and immediately froze. The hall was filled with at least half a dozen undead, probably more that he couldn't even see.

Behind him he heard Emmy gasp in fear as she clung to her husband. Merlin stiffened, but determination spread through his eyes.

It was when the first of the zombies noticed them that Arthur acted, plunging the knife in the creature's head and he moved to the next one. The others did the same and without any problems they cleared the floor.

What he heard next caused shivers to run down his spine, it was a soft sobbing and he immediately recognized the voice. It was Jenny.

Merlin had also heard it and he saw Merlin run to the little girl's bedroom. Arthur quickly followed, fearing for his friend's life, but as soon as he entered the room he stiffened.

Blood was smeared all over the room, the whole floor was colored red and it ended as he saw Anne's body. The woman's chest was weakly rising and falling as she gasped for air, her hands reaching for the large wound in her neck, a whole chunk of flesh was ripped out.

Jenny was sobbing next to Anne, her little hands shaking as they hovered over the woman's body, clearly not knowing what to do.

Arthur shot forward, passing a frozen Merlin as he pulled Jenny away from Anne. He turned back to the raven and handed him the girl. 'Merlin, get her out of here.' He ordered the younger man. It took Merlin a moment to come back to his senses and he nodded hastily before he guided Jenny out of the room.

The blond turned back to Anne, taking the woman's hand in his own as he searched for the life that was barely left in her eyes. 'Anne... Anne can you hear me?'

Their eyes met and the woman nodded slowly. 'A... A-Arthur?'

'Yes, it's me.' He whispered softly to her.

A deep breath left her lips. 'I... I got bitten...' She said with a troubled voice as she moved her fingers over the wound. '... I will turn, won't I?'

Arthur's eyes darkened. 'Yes... yes, you will turn.'

'Then k-kill me!' She exclaimed with a pain filled groan, she didn't have long and both of them knew it.

Even though he knew it was the right thing to do did it shook him. He glanced once back at the others and met Philip's eyes. The older man just nodded, telling Arthur with his eyes that he should do it, but... the thought of killing a still living person, it caused shivers to run down his spine. '... I will do it.' Arthur eventually told both Anne and Phillip before he asked the last one. 'Take the others outside, they shouldn't see this.' And with those words Philip left.

Arthur turned back to Anne and he tried to reassure the dying woman. 'Thank you for everything you have done for us.' He whispered as he placed the gun to the woman's head.

A tear ran over Anne's cheek. 'Tell t-the others tha-t.. am sorry.' She coughed up blood before locking eyes with Arthur once more. 'Do it now!'

And with a single movement Arthur ended her life, pulling the trigger as a bullet embedded itself in her skull. He saw how her body went completely limp, sinking to the ground, to never move again.

The blond slowly stood up, once more looking down at Anne before he whispered a silent apology. It was then that he walked away, closing the door behind him. He stared up at the others, the adults looked at him with understanding looks, but Jenny... the girl looked at him with a questioning, almost begging look. 'Let's find Jack.'

'But Anne-.' Jenny started as the girl reached for the door.

Merlin quickly wrapped his arms around the little girl, pulling her back to his chest. 'No... no, we will not take her with us.' The raven whispered.

'I don-.'

'It's going to be okay.'

Arthur could hear the worry that was spread in Merlin's voice, even when the raven tried to hide it. Arthur placed a reassuring hand on his friend's shoulder, squeezing it slightly before they went on. They still had to find Jack, he wasn't in his room and hopefully he had been able to hide himself somewhere.

They quickly made their way to the ground floor, killing three more undead on their way down, but as soon as he could see the ground floor through the railing he froze.

What seemed like a wall of undead were pounding against the kitchen door, desperately trying to make their way inside. Merlin crouched down next to him, gasping as he saw all the zombies and they looked nervously at each other. It was clear they would not be able to get down this way, which was the only staircase down.

They silently made their way back up and told the others what they had found.

'What're we going to do now?' Emmy asked with fear in her voice as she pulled Jenny even closer to her chest.

Arthur turned to Philip. 'Is there another way out?'

The older man silently shook his head. 'No, this is the only way down.' He looked nervously at his wife. 'We have to take the risk and go down that way.'

It was not what Arthur had hoped for, if they had to go down the stairs they probably wouldn't survive, there was no way they could get past the zombies without the creatures noticing. He immediately started to pace over the hallway, desperately trying to think of another way out... another way out... His eyes snapped to the window, it was only one story high. 'The window.' He whispered.

He raced to the glass, staring outside and immediately his heart dropped again. The whole garden was filled with undead.

'Is it a way out?'

He shook his head as he let Merlin look outside. The raven bit his lip as he watched the scene beneath the window, but then he suddenly frowned as he tilted his head to the side. Merlin's hand shot forward, fiddling with the lock before he threw the window open. 'Merlin, what are you doing?'

'The edge.' He simply said as he pointed to the small ridge at the side of the house, it ran all the way around the building, allowing a person to carefully walk over it. 'We can try to make it to the garage roof, from there we can get to the cars.'

Arthur grinned in return, they might pull this one off... Still... they had no idea where Jack was and they couldn't leave without him, could they? On the other hand he couldn't get the others in danger.

'I will go and see if it's safe.' Merlin suddenly stated and Arthur's eyes snapped back to the raven. He didn't want Merlin to go out on his own, he didn't want his friend to face this danger alone... Merlin could clearly see the hesitation in Arthur's eyes and he added. 'I'm the smallest one, - except for Jenny, but she is just a little girl, - and I will just go and see if we can make it that way.'

'Merlin's right.' Philip said as he leaned against the window and turned from Arthur to Merlin. 'Go and see if we can all make it, while we will search for the car keys.' Merlin nodded at Philip before he turned to Arthur and said a silent goodbye. The smaller man quickly climbed out of the window while Philip turned back to Arthur. 'Let's search for the keys in Jack's room.'

Arthur glanced once more out the window, watching as Merlin carefully made his way over the ridge before he turned back and followed Philip.

xxx

Merlin glanced once more at Arthur, seeing the hesitation in the other's eyes. His next actions scared even himself, but he knew he had to do it. He had to be as strong as Arthur was and help with their escape.

He breathed in deeply once more before he climbed through the window and placed his feet on the edge. It was small, but he could make his way over it. He touched the wall with his hands, searching for a bit of grip as he started to move over the ridge. At first he took a slow pace, but soon he was going much faster and it didn't take him long before he reached the lower roof. He jumped and landed with a rather loud thump. He cursed at himself for a moment as he heard the sound and he could already see a few zombies turn around to face the origin of the sound.

But they couldn't reach him and he quickly walked further over the roof. He glanced down at the garage door, searching for the indication that there weren't any zombies inside the garage, but sadly that wasn't the case. The door was wide open and Merlin's smile fell, their car was gone.

He sighed and turned to look at the garden, roughly counting the undead walking outside before turning back.

But as soon as he went to make his way back to the others he noticed a small light from the kitchen window. It was a small window that just reached above the roof. He quickly glanced inside and he gasped as he saw Jack, the man was nervously pacing through the room, it was clear he had locked himself up.

He tapped on the window, trying to get the older man's attention and Jack's head snapped up, blinking at the raven. Jack clearly relaxed when he recognized Merlin and made his way towards the window, but as soon as he opened his mouth it was clear to Merlin that he could barely make out the words through the glass. He signed for the other to stand back as he grabbed the hilt of his knife and broke the glass.

'Jack, are you okay?'

The man nodded. 'Yeah, but I'm in a kind of tight situation at the moment... How are the others?' The last he asked almost pleadingly as he feared for the their lives.

Merlin turned away, not wanting to face him as he answered the question. '... Arthur, Jenny, Philip and Emmy are alright, but Anne... She's dead.'

Jack could barely suppress a pain filled growl as he sank to the ground, but then his head snapped back up. '... You didn't mention Derek.'

The raven shook his head. 'I don't know where he's, but I think he left us. The car is missing and I think he opened the gate.'

Jack's eyes darkened, but he nodded at him. They fell silent for another moment before both were startled by a large slam against the door as one of the hinges broke off.

Merlin's eyes widened in shock and he quickly tried to get as much glass out of the windowsill as possible. 'Get through here!' Jack didn't hesitate as he pushed the table to the window and climbed on top of it.

Jack pulled himself up to the window and started to squeeze through the tight opening while Merlin grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled. The window was small and Jack could barely fit through it, but when he was halfway through the window the last hinge broke loose. Undead stormed into the room, searching for fresh meat and it didn't take them long before they noticed Jack.

Merlin and Jack panicked and the raven pulled harder, ignoring the shards that imbedded themselves in Jack's skin, fearing only for his friend's life.

It was then that Jack screamed in agonizing pain before he was pulled completely through the window. Merlin pulled both of them completely onto the roof, but the smile that was settled on his face because they had escaped quickly disappeared.

His eyes fell on Jack's leg, blood was flowing rapidly from a large gap in his flesh. Jack was bitten.

Merlin's hands hovered towards the other man, his mind screaming to do something, but he knew he couldn't help the other out anymore. Jack was a dead man walking.

Jack let out a broken sob as his hands touched the wound. He breathed in deeply before he turned back to Merlin, staring sadly at the other. 'I... I...' He couldn't even finish his own words and he clenched his teeth tightly together. 'You have to get the others out, what's your plan?' He asked, trying to ignore the horrible pain spreading through his body.

Merlin quickly explained what he and the others had discussed and in the end Jack shook his head as his shaking fingers reached for his trousers, pulling out a set of keys. 'I have them.'

Merlin stared shocked for a moment at the keys before he took them. He knew he had to get back to the others, but he couldn't leave Jack like this... Jack seemed to understand his worry and nodded. 'Go get the others... It will take some time for me to change, I will be your look out.'

'Jack, I-.'

'Just go.' Jack said tiredly as he waved for the other to go.

Merlin nodded as he stood up, making his way back to the house and onto the ridge. He glanced once more at Jack before the man disappeared behind the wall as he made his way further over the edge.

He turned back to watch the sight in front of him and he noticed how Arthur hung half out window, looking at Merlin with a startled look in his eyes. 'You're back.'

Merlin nodded and Arthur helped the raven back into the hall. The others quickly circled around him and he gulped once before he said. 'I found Jack, he's bitten.'


	9. Chapter 9

_**A/N: So people, here's the next chapter. I'm sorry for the long way, but I have been rather tired (the same goes for my Beta reader) as school has started again and I have had so much homework (it started last week). Oh and one question, would you people like to see Derek return? More I won't say for now, so please enjoy and tell me what you think. **_

xxx

_He turned back to watch the sight in front of him and he noticed how Arthur hung half out window, blinking startled at Merlin. 'You're back.'_

_Merlin nodded and Arthur helped the raven back into the hall. The others quickly circled around him and he gulped once before he said. 'I found Jack, he's bitten.'_

Merlin watched the others as they took in those words. Jack, their leader, was bitten, which they all knew was a death sentence. Emmy let out a silent sob as she buried her face in her husband's shoulder, Philip's face just hardened, but you could see a hint of sadness in his old eyes. Tears just rolled over Jenny's face, even as young as she was she knew what being bitten meant, her young innocent life being hardened by this wicked world. The last he looked at was Arthur, he just sighed sadly, he and Arthur had known the man the shortest, but both admired him and it was so painful for both of them.

The raven again cleared his throat. 'He hasn't changed yet, but I don't think it will be long. He's on the roof, we better go to him. He probably needs a friendly face before he... turns.'

None of them reacted for a moment until Arthur clapped his hands. 'Come, we have to act now, we have to leave.' The blond told the others and they all nodded, knowing that Arthur would probably be their new leader. Arthur turned to him. 'Is it safe to go over the roof?'

He nodded. 'Yes, but there are zombies in the garage and our car is missing, only the SUV is there, but...' He eyed their group, they were with the five of them. 'It is probably big enough for all of us.' It hurt to know that they had lost part of their group, lost their new friends.

Merlin was again the first person to go out of the window, slowly walking over the edge. He glanced back, seeing how Jenny nervously followed him and held out his hand. The little girl glanced up at him and smiled silently as she took his hand, holding it tight because she was afraid of heights.

He helped Jenny over the ridge before he jumped again on the roof, his eyes immediately shot towards Jack, the man lay in the same place where he had left the man. His eyes closed and his face was one filled with pain, it was clear Jack was trying to hold_ it_ off as long as possible.

He reached for the little girl, helping her down onto the roof and immediately she shot past him and towards Jack. 'Jack, Jack, Jack!' She yelled and Merlin flinched as he heard her loud voice.

The man's eyes opened themselves slowly, slightly unfocused before they settled themselves on the young girl next to him. 'Shh... you should be quiet, we don't want them to hear.' He said softly.

She let out a sob and nodded. 'Y-yeah... am sorry.'

'It's fine... Where are the others?'

Merlin walked into his eyesight and the two men smiled softly at each other, both not needing any words. Soon the others also made their way onto the roof, Emmy immediately ran towards Jack, just like Jenny tears rolled over her cheeks. 'Oh, Jack...' She whispered.

In the corner of his eye he noticed how Arthur made his way towards him. 'So what do you plan on doing next?' Merlin asked.

Arthur breathed in deeply before he answered. 'The same as it was before, but only... with less people.' He finished as he looked at Merlin. 'You know that we have to kill him, right?'

'Yes, just like Anne... but not in front of Jenny and preferably not in front of Emmy either, they shouldn't have to see anymore of this.'

The blond nodded. 'Yeah...'

It was then that Jack couched loudly, his whole body shivering as his voice started to hitch. 'I... I w-won't be able-.' His words were cut off as he arched his back, his eyes filled with pure pain. '... I fear... I-I have to... say g-goodbye.'

'Jack, Jack!' Jenny pleaded as Jack's body went limp. Merlin quickly reached forwards, pulling the young girl away from the man, the man she had probably seen as a father ever since all of this happened.

Philip glanced up at Arthur, trying to hide the tears that were spread in his eyes. 'What do you want us to do now?'

'We get to the car.' Philip nodded as he pulled both his wife and Jenny with him, the little girl still sobbing as she tried to reach for Jack.

'You go too.' Arthur said softly to Merlin. 'I will handle... Jack.' The last word was barely more than a whisper.

Merlin bit his lip. 'You sure about that, I know that you became rather close with him and-.'

'I'm not going to let you do it, just go and calm Jenny down, she needs you.'

Both their heads shot around, as a low groan spread over the roof. Jack's body was slowly starting to restart itself, but this time it was a soulless body. Arthur glanced once more at him before his lips tightened together and he shoved Merlin towards the others.

Merlin glanced back at Arthur as the blond leaned over Jack, a knife in his hand. He sighed deeply as he turned around, pulling Jenny towards his chest, knowing that it was something that she shouldn't see and he heard the sickening sound of bone breaking. He didn't look back, he just stared up at Philip who was also looking the other way. 'How many of them are in the garage?'

It shook Philip out of his thoughts and he took glanced at the garage again, before answering. 'Three inside, couple more outside, but they won't notice us if we keep quiet.'

'B-but we can't leave Jack.' Jenny sobbed at them.

Merlin felt as if his heart broke hearing her words, did she still truly believe that... that... He couldn't even finish his own words. 'He wants us to go without him.' He ended with a smile, knowing that lies were the best he could give her at the moment.

He looked up and saw Arthur walk towards them, a dark expression spread over his face. 'It's now or never.' The blond said as he looked down at Merlin. Merlin and the others just nodded as they followed their new leader.

Arthur carefully jumped off the roof, landing with a soft thump on the ground. Merlin soon followed and jumping down. His eyes scanned the area before he turned around and helped Jenny down as Philip handed her to him. Second, he helped Emmy down, the older woman was clearly not as flexible anymore. Philip was the last one to come down.

Merlin turned back, quickly driving his knife into one of the undead's skull. He turned back and noticed that Arthur had already taken care of the other two, but it was clear that they hadn't gone unnoticed, the low groans of the undead came closer, together with the soft shuffling of feet.

Arthur also heard it as his head snapped around as he hissed to the others. 'Get in the car!' The others just nodded and Merlin threw the keys to Philip who was standing closest to the door. He quickly followed, while Arthur watched their backs.

But he had barely made it to the car when his eyes blinked in surprise at the rear of the car, he was sure that he had closed the backdoor when they had finished packing yesterday, he was one of the last to leave, but no one else had been... His eyes widened in shock. Derek must have been through here when he snuck out.

His eyes snapped back to Philip who was opening the door to the driver's seat. 'No!' He screamed loudly as he tried to stop the man, but he was already too late.

Philip pulled the car door open as his eyes traveled to Merlin, frowning because he didn't know why the raven was screaming, but he didn't have much time to think about it as his head slammed against the garage wall. A zombie had jumped out of the car, eying the man's flesh before he let his teeth sink in.

Merlin stared in horror as he heard Philip scream in pain, flesh being ripped out of his shoulder. He tightened his grip on the handle of his knife as he ran forward, embedding the knife again and again in the undead's head, but he already knew that he was too late, Philip was infected.

The zombie rolled unmoving to the side, but Merlin had eyes only for the heavily breathing Philip, Emmy sobbing loudly into his untouched shoulder, she also knew his fate.

'Merlin?' He heard Arthur ask behind him. Merlin just shook his head in answer, knowing that the blond would understand. Still Arthur didn't have much time to keep his attention on Philip because more undead were already walking towards them.

It was when Philip also noticed the undead that his eyes shifted toward Merlin, taking his hand in a tight grip. 'Please...' He breathed out. 'Kill me, I don't want to become one of them and you can't waste anymore time... You have to move now.' He said almost all of this in one long breath, his eyes hard and determined.

'No, no please don't, there must be something else we can do!' Emmy screamed as she grabbed his arm, pulling down the knife that Merlin had lifted.

'Shhh... My dear...' Her husband whispered as he tried to give her a reassuring smile. '... My time is finished, just go with them...' He almost pleaded. 'Please save me from my misery.'

Merlin glanced at Emmy who was staring at the man she loved, it seemed like she was deep in thought, but she quickly looked at Merlin. 'I will do it.' She whispered to him before she reached into her pocket, and pulled out a small handgun. The raven was too shocked to react as Emmy leaned forward, one of her hands brushing Philip's hair, the other held the gun to his head. 'I love you my love, so very much.'

'And I love you.' He whispered back with a smile. Their lips met for one last time before she pulled the trigger.

Philip's body slowly sank to the ground, his empty eyes staring up. One last sob left Emmy's lips as she lifted the gun, the cold metal met her head and she shot. Her body slowly sinking down against that of her husband, her head resting on his chest.

They were reunited in death.

_**xxx**_

_**A/N: Hides as she feels the glares of all the people... uhh you I have been killing people off. Haha, I can also feel the glare of my beta reader, but I hope you all still enjoy.**_


End file.
